


mother of the year

by Riverdaughter



Series: Dick and Dami Week 2021 [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics)
Genre: Bad Parent Talia al Ghul, Brotherly Love, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Batman, Gen, POV Talia al Ghul, Protective Damian Wayne, Protective Dick Grayson, and to his face actually, batboys bonding, but also she is a mess, dickanddamiweek2021, she insults Dick a lot in her thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29935242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riverdaughter/pseuds/Riverdaughter
Summary: Dick is humming under his breath, where he perches next to Damian, one hand absent-mindedly petting Damian’s spiky hair, the other pointing out some detail in a crime scene photo. Damian is astonishingly blasé about this unwarranted intrusion of personal space and Talia finds herself caught for a moment watching curiously at the un-spoken affection.orTalia finds herself on the wrong side of Batman and Robin's protective instincts.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Talia al Ghul & Damian Wayne
Series: Dick and Dami Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199723
Comments: 6
Kudos: 162
Collections: DickAndDamiWeek2021





	mother of the year

**Author's Note:**

> Dami’s First Birthday with Dick / Comfort / ~~“He’s my son!” ~~~~~~

Talia al Ghul has been very good at what she does for a very long time. Infrequent dips in one of her father’s Lazarus pits may keep her as fresh-faced as any young starlet but she is old, older than her beloved’s butler, older than those decrepit “heroes” in the Justice Society, old enough to find this bustling world hollow and its people insignificant. 

Damian had revived some of her interest, sparked some motherly instinct buried under the waves of envious green. But Damian is a child, a child who while easily molded is still thoughtless, curious, never quite the perfect assassin heir. Ra’s and his plans had merely accelerated her timeline. Damian was always going to end up in the care of his father, once he had been suitably molded so as to keep his mind and heart clean of the Bat’s influence.

Richard Grayson was predictably the unexpected wrench in the works, to use one of those peculiar English colloquialisms. If Talia had to sum up a list of the most useless, annoying and infuriatingly tenacious people she had met over her lifetime, the pretty circus brat would top all three.

Consider luring her beloved back into the embrace of the League and one orphaned, teary-eyed hellion would appear. Plan on alienating Batman from his colleagues in the Justice League (not that he needed her help for that) and a tiny teenage human would somehow adopt an army of demi-gods and aliens and well, the less said about the Titans the better.

All of which brought Talia back to the source of her grievances, the barely adult boy who had somehow decided to _love_ her son into a better person. Ludicrous and bizarre as it seemed this unlikely tactic had worked and instead of getting an efficient, impeccably trained fighting machine, Damian is now weak; wandering around with a horde of pet animals and frittering away his days doodling and doing “school-work” far below his level.

If she doesn’t do something soon, Damian is going to be hopelessly infected with chronic idealism, which is why she is spending a perfectly lovely night lurking in the shadows of the bunker under the Wayne penthouse.

Dick is humming under his breath, where he perches next to Damian, one hand absent-mindedly petting Damian’s spiky hair, the other pointing out some detail in a crime scene photo. Damian is astonishingly blasé about this unwarranted intrusion of personal space and Talia finds herself caught for a moment watching curiously at the un-spoken affection.

The moment passes and Talia focuses more on the fact that the unworthy successor to the mantle al Xu'ffasch has thrown aside the cowl and has moved on to tickling her imperious offspring. And Talia knows that Dick is dangerous, far more than he seems. Whatever her opinion of his character, he is clever and determined, ruthless even, when needed. Anyone who could beat her father in single combat is a force to be reckoned with, but the angry green drives her on, unable to stand another minute of watching her traitorous son…playing.

She leaps forward noiselessly, but the two boys spring back as readily as if she had made some sound. Their faces are set to combat until they catch sight of her; Damian relaxes slightly but Dick must recognize the hate in her face and stands warily.

“Talia,” he says evenly, a touch of the Batman deepening his voice.

“Richard,” she says, “I have come for my son. Your services as his caretaker are no longer required.”

Damian tenses but says nothing to her surprise.

“I’m not his babysitter, Talia, I’m his guardian and his brother,” Dick answers, “Damian is happy here and he is going nowhere unless he wants to. Right Dami?”

“I wish to stay here with Richard, Mother,” Damian says stiffly.

“Come with me at once, you disobedient pup.” Talia orders and Damian looks away.

Dick flushes, covering him in rosy anger, “Don’t you dare talk to him like that,” he has the nerve to order her.

“He is _my_ son!” Talia snaps, drawing her sword, “I’ll speak to him as I wish. This charade is over and don’t think that I will hesitate to put you down if needed to take him back.”

“Please just try to, Talia,” Dick _grins_. “He’s my brother and I’ve already lost enough of those of a lifetime. Didn’t Ra’s tell you about our little tussle in the desert?”

Talia swings at his head with all her strength as answer. Dick ducks and flips backwards plucking a sword from the air with a nod of thanks to her son.

In a normal frame of mind Talia probably wouldn’t have started a fight, but she is angry, off-balance and she wants nothing more than to wipe the smile off of the circus brat’s face with sharp steel. Her anger serves her well up to a point, Dick is no longer smiling, his face is set and determined as he matches her blow for blow until Damian joins.

“Back Dami,” he says just distracted enough for Talia to spring backwards and swing the flat of blade under her son’s chin.

“Put it down, Richard.” She orders, turning the blade so that the edge rests against Damian’s throat.

Dick obeys, silent for the moment and waits. Talia prods Damian towards him offering him her spare garrote to tie the older boy’s hands. Damian fumbles with the knots, shooting apologetic glances towards the older boy.

As soon as Dick is restrained, she lets Damian out from under the blade and repositions it above Dick’s heart, allowing herself a pleased smile. Dick grimaces but doesn’t move.

Talia knows that she is angry enough to end it here, regardless of the consequences. She teeters on the edge of finishing it for once and forever. Though it might be just her luck to have this one turn up undead as well.

“Do, it Talia,” Dick says softly looking her in the eyes, “Kill me and Damian will never be your son. Make him watch as you murder me, and he will never follow you. Kill me and the Titans, the Justice League will hunt you to the ends of the earth. They will tear your father’s League to pieces if need be, and you know it.”

It’s just enough of a push to blind Talia to everything but murderous green and she swings her sword up and forward, determined to silence that voice forever.

It’s a matter of seconds but Dick is gone, his hands free and then there is something tangled around her legs and Damian is standing over her, their positions reversed.

“Dami, don’t,” Dick says, just as gently as he’d been when he was purposely angering her. And Damian steps back allowing Dick to secure her properly before pushing her into one of the holding cells.

The anger is subsiding a little and Talia knows that Dick was right. Killing his guardian? brother? father? in front of him would only cement Damian as Dick’s heir. She can wait a while longer. And watch confused as Dick hugs the younger boy instead of punishing him for interfering with the fight.

**Author's Note:**

> Not as happy with this as I was with the last one. Talia is an interesting pov but also exhausting and I was running out of Talia-esque insults to throw at Dick.


End file.
